Monthly Archives: February 2014

There was a fire in an alcove landing on one of the two-story apartments at 1101 W. Clark Ave. late last evening. Firefighters arrived to find fire and smoke coming from the alcove landing. The firefighters made an immediate attack with hand lines to quickly extinguish the fire.

Multiple occupants were evacuated from the building while the firefighters performed their job. The fire appeared to be started by a discarded cigarette. The major portion of the flooring was a concrete overlay, but the corners had small openings into the wood framed area. This was where the fire originated.

Firefighters did extensive overhaul of the alcove to ensure the fire was completely extinguished. The electrical power to the building was temporarily turned off, but was turned back on after firefighters completely extinguished all fire. The fire was contained to the outside alcove and for that reason the occupants were allowed to re-enter their apartments.

Share this:

Like this:

I introduced the speaker to the standing room only crowd. But, I didn’t need to introduce him. The crowd was there because they know Major Ray Marbut from Augusta.

I think it’s fair to say that there is nobody that knows wild land firefighting like Ray Marbut, nor is there anybody who has more passion for the job. He explained incident command, he explained how to fight wild land fires, he explained how to care for your vehicles, and on and on.

And Ray equals his knowledge of wild land firefighting with his presentation skills. Two and one half hours later seemed like ten minutes. The reason is his profound knowledge mixed in with his stories that solidify his message. And he knows how to use the right story at the right time to the right depth. Few presentors possess such skill.

Major Ray Marbut needs to be speaking at State Fire Conferences and National Fire Conferences. Firefighters from across the nation could prosper from his teachings. Some might just save theirs or their crew’s life.

We are fortunate to have Major Ray Marbut in Butler County for another reason. The man is one of the most giving people you will ever know. If you need his help, all you have to do is call.